A day of the week

Oh goody! I've got a hangover and the footy is a 12.30pm kick off. Oh goody, it's those unwashed minks Celtic yet again. Oh Goody, my phone/buzzer are going off and it's only 10am!

Yes, my cousin Stuart arrived early. I was still drunk, had very little sleep and was in no way excited for this upcoming match. Note to self, I really must quit drinking. But not today, oh no! The only thing that was going to prepare me for the forthcoming match, was another beer. And so off to the golf club we toddle. A quick refresher later and trying to avoid as much of the unwashed hordes as possible and we sidle into the 'theatre of dreams' (yes, perhaps i'm still drunk now) and settle down for the glorious day of football ahead.

One positive aspect was no need for a jacket today. It was sunny AND warm. Yes, I know, this is a rarity for the 'deen so we all took the opportunity to bask in the glorious sunshine.

And to be the fair, the first half of the match was almost as glorious. Maguire opened the scoring, heading in from a Mulgrew free kick. He should have scored another 2 in the first half, missing a glorious chance early on with a lob when clean through on Boruc.

It all went horribly, horribly wrong just on the stroke of half time (as always seems to be the case against the tatties). A woeful Considine own goal and the teams go in on level terms.

Surely the second half would see us come out fighting? Don't be so silly, Celtic are all over us, score another two terrible goals (with Considine the culprit for both) and it's all over. That being said, the referee did us no favours throughout the game awarding every 50-50 decision to Celtic. Not to mention the fact he didn't show any cards for Celtic players after a series of bad fouls, but produced one for youngster Pawlett after his first foul. Reaction here.

And to compound matters, Dundee United scored a last minute winner to effectively end our chances of Europe next season. Disaster. We now have to win at Tanadice this coming Thursday, I certainly can't see it....

A place in the top 6 of the league beckoned on Saturday if a win was secured against a resurgent Inverness side. Much negative press had surrounded the manager and club for this very reason .... many people see qualification for the top 6 as a given, and don't see it as an achievement, which is completely understandable. What I would personally see as an achievement this season would be a return to Europe. But first.... that top 6 place.

The build up to the match was well and truly overshadowed by a minutes silence to remember those who lost their lives in the recent North Sea helecopter tradgedy. Love them or loathe them, the Red Ultras put on a very poingnant display, which i'm sure was greatly appreciated by all, and a very fitting tribute.

Now, onto the match itself. The first half seemed fairly even to be fair with the best chance falling to Lee Miller who forced Esson into a great diving save. Things just don't seem to be going big Lee's way and he really needs a goal to get his, and the Dons, season back on track for a Euro spot.

If the first half proved a little lacklustre, the Dons have to be given some praise for the way they came out in the second half and well and truly dominated. Aluko seemed to get into the game far more and looked menacing, Maguire was unlucky with an effort which cannoned back off the bar but it all looked to be petering out to a goalless stalemate.


All credit to the much maligned Charlie Mulgrew for whipping in a wonderful ball right onto the head of Gary McDonald though. His 6th goal of the season and yet another assist for Mulgrew which proved to be the winner. And well deserved it was too. You can see the highlights here.

Shock of the day for me personally was Dick Foster actually playing quite well. He must have made about 10 passes to his own teammates too.... keep it up Ricky, greatness beckons!

Next up, Celtic Park. Whatever will happen?

Ah Motherwell, about the only team in the league with a worse pitch than ourselves right now. So this game was never going to be a silky passing affair. The way we are playing right now however, a good pitch would make no difference to our misfiring 'stars'.

A pretty paltry crowd of 4,600 is inside Fir Park for this feast of football and the Dons quickly go a goal down inside 9 minutes. From there on the first half is all Motherwell, with the Dons struggling to even get out of their own half.

Jimmy 'shoogly peg' Blunderwood obviously read the riot act at halftime and changed the formation from a 3-5-2 to our more regular 4-4-2. This had immediate results, with Maguire blasting in the equaliser off the bar following a flick on from the returning Lee Miller.

The joy was short lived however as Andrew Considine was soon given his marching orders for two poor challenges on Clarkson and it was backs to the wall once more. Motherwell almost snatched it right at the death, only to be denied by a Langfield wonder save. See it in all its glory here.

Inverness at home on Saturday. Win and its 'top 6' glory again this season! Woo! Apparently there is a demostration planned for after the game regardless of the result. It could get interesting.

TOMMY'S GONNA GET YE! I ventured down towards todders (having successfully given away our extra tickets to some poor souls) feeling a little wary of this impending cup tie. Especially considering the disaster that was last years semi final in the same competition.

I need not have worried however, for minutes after i'd sat down with my pie and bovril East Fife were reduced to 10 men. A glorious lob from Vidal, Aluko is racing onto it and out bolts the opposition keeper to inexplicably handle outside his area. Red card, game effectively over.

This proved to be the case a few moments later, a great cross from the left (from... you guessed it, man of the match Aluko) and up pops Tommy Dreamer to open his account for the Dons. Glad to see the big man off the mark and lets hope it's the first of many.

It was pretty much one way traffic from this point onwards, the second goal being the pick of the bunch. A 'flowing' passing move side footed home by our resident hairdresser, Vidal Sasson to open his Dons account too.... 'silky smooth'!

Aluko soon added the 3rd with the help of a wicked deflection which effectively killed the game. It didn't kill my appetite though and I added to my pie scoreline with a sly little steak pie to bring the count up to 2. I think the steak actually edged out the chicken for once. Result.

Onto the second half. A lot of huffing and puffing. And to be fair to East Fife, they created a couple of chances to at least give their impressive away support something to cheer about. The Dons hat the post through Severin and Maguire missed a total sitter when clean through.

To be fair to the young lad he rolled his sleeves up and popped up with a late double. One header and a great finish for his second, and the Dons 5th! Hopefully this will give him a bit of confidence to push on and cement a place in the first team. Match report is here.

It was also pleasing to see two other youngsters (Pawlett and Paton) get a run out. Big things will be expected of these two young lads, lets hope they deliver.

Up next, United. At home. We really need to win this one. If we don't, it's an uphill battle for 3rd spot. Lets hope the boys are up for it. We have a score to settle, especially after the last match at Tannadice.